Two Michelin-starred Restaurant Sat Bains has slipped out of the the Top 100 of an elite UK restaurant guide based on the views of diners. It comes just a year after Nottingham's top restaurant ranked at number one and hailed "outstanding in every way."
The Top 100 in the 2023 edition of Harden's has been announced today (January 12). Alex Bond's one-star Alchemilla, in Derby Road, Nottingham, stands in 42nd place - down from 14th position in 2022. The restaurant received praise for its “mind-blowing experimental food and interesting wine pairings” and “very friendly staff, who are very knowledgeable about the offering.”
The only other East Midlands restaurant to feature in the Top 100 is Hambleton Hall, in Rutland. A total of 2,800 restaurants across the country are listed, based on 30,000 reports submitted from a survey of 3,000 ordinary diners rather than professional inspectors.
Read more: Nottingham Street Food Club to leave Victoria Centre as lease comes to an end
Peter Harden, co-founder of Harden’s, said: "Both Alchemilla and Hambleton Hall have returned to this year's Harden's Top 100 list, and for very good reason, as diners continue to find experiences at both establishments to be of high quality with service receiving particularly high praise.
"It is not a total surprise to see last year's number one, Restaurant Sat Bains, disappear from the Top 100. The listing is highly competitive, and although the restaurant's ratings have only slipped by a fraction, some regulars did note (as they have at some other top places this year) both pressures on service (“I felt standards had dropped since pre-pandemic days”); and concerns over value (“I have been eating at Restaurant Sat Bains since 2006... prices nowadays are becoming astronomical”).
"In a year where the cost of living crisis will continue to bite, it will be interesting to see where chefs and diners decide to draw the line when it comes to prices."
Restaurant Sat Bains charges £195 for a ten-course tasting menu featuring unique dishes such as Cornish crab with brown butter ice cream and 'Ratte Potato' with Jabugo 5j (hailed the best Iberico ham in the world), tartare sauce and seven-year-old parmesan. A new seven-course lunchtime menu for £145 has been launched on Saturdays.
Mr Bains, who has been at the restaurant, in Lenton Lane, for 24 years, said: "It's a shame we are no longer on the list but understand completely with the economic climate affecting us all the way it is and customers are searching for more varied and price conscious.
"We understand this absolutely so we introduced our new Saturday lunch menu for seven courses at £145 back in November which has proved incredibly successful as we have almost filled most Saturday lunches for the next four weeks. I am very proud of the team. The only way we are going is onwards and upwards, we are not going sideways or down."
Number one in the Top 100 is Andrew Fairlie, at Gleneagles Hotel, in Scotland. Mr Bains added: "We're thrilled to bits for it to hit the top spot. It's well deserved. It's one of our favourite places in the world to visit."
The 32nd edition of the Harden's guide is priced £18.99 and is available in bookshops, and as apps for Apple or Android.
READ NEXT:
